Conversation with a Chef

Minnesota native Mark Peterson says, “My culinary career really began on my family’s pig farm and working at my grandmother’s café and catering company.” Teenage stints as a dishwasher and prep cook inspired his passion for cooking, and after graduating from Cordon Bleu, he helped open Park City’s Easy Street restaurant. He moved to California’s Meritage, then back to Park City’s Riverhorse. He opened J&G Grill Deer Crest and the J&G in Washington, DC, when an opportunity at Sundancebrought him back to Utah. “My dream was always to have a café where I can offer a commissary kitchen and carry unique products.” Peterson’s dream came true at Riverhorse Provisions, a quaint gourmet market on Main Street featuring artisanal cuisine, a full deli case and custom gift baskets.

Five5eeds’ Chef Christopher Conville grew up in a miner’s house in Park City. “I started as a dishwasher then became a prep cook so I could earn enough quarters to play video games.” It was then that he realized he had “a jive for cooking,” and at seventeen, knew he wanted to become a chef. Conville’s summer travels to the southeast provided experience with different regional cuisines under talented chefs. Forays to Portland and Seattle increased his culinary experience, and he began working for Bon Appetite Management providing food-service to corporations, universities and museums. During this 16-year partnership, he learned all facets of restaurant operation. At Five5eeds, he puts his unique spin on globally inspired cuisine.

Four months is the longest that Chef Logen Crew has been away from Café Trio in his 12-year partnership—his eagerness to learn prompted brief flings at Fresco, Log Haven, and the opening of Current and Stanza, creating a recipe for success that built on his early training in Brighton High School’s Culinary Arts Program where his team won 1st place in the state competition and 3rd in the U.S. What’s his favorite part of being a chef? “I love the intensity of being super busy,” he says, “the randomness behind the scenes. I like to make people happy quietly.” Chef Crew will be doing just that at Café Trio’s third location in Park City with an updated menu of Mediterranean-style cuisine and small plates.

Firewood Chef/Owner John Murcko remembers accompanying his father to great restaurants on business trips. “I was exposed to new things, to adult food.” Though he laughs about originally wanting to be “the guy that walks you to your table,” by age 15, he knew he was destined to be a chef. Working summers at Mackinac Island restaurants, he learned a great foundation for business. A waiting list for the Culinary Institute prompted him to spend a winter at Snowbird’s Cliff Lodge, sparking his love affair with the west. Aft er graduating from CIA, he returned to Mackinac Island, then to Chicago’s Ritz Carlton. Murcko missed the mountains and realized that with Park City’s global clientele, you didn’t have to live in a big city to cook at that level. He thrived at Grappa, Goldener Hirsch, and Chimayo before creating concept restaurants at the Canyons. “You think you’ve done it all, but you learn even more when opening your own restaurant, experiencing the joy of being back in the kitchen developing your own style.” At Firewood, his new style has created a unique experience for guests.